AUG 15-18 | INDIGENOUS SONGBOOK
Aug 15, 2024
Joe Henderson Lab
Our week with artists who integrate their indigenous heritage into their musical aesthetic starts with trumpeter Delbert Anderson, whose innovative quartet blends Diné (Navajo) Spinning songs with improvisational jazz and funk.
A member of the Navajo tribe and raised in Shiprock, New Mexico, Anderson carries on the tradition of trumpet titans with Indigenous American backgrounds like Miles Davis (who was of Cherokee heritage) and Don Cherry (who was part Choctaw). He has worked with T.S Monk, Bobby Watson, and Brad Goode, and performs in the Joe Henderson Lab with a high-powered band including keyboardist Robert Muller, bassist Mike McCluhan, and drummer Khalill Brown.
Anderson’s compositions illuminate the indigenous traditions of Northern New Mexico with settings of Diné, or Navajo, folk songs named for the spinning dance that often accompanies them — songs steeped in ancient Diné principles of Hózhó (harmony), beauty, and balance with oneself, with others, and with nature.
His newest release, Kindred Spirits, was recorded with South African musicians while the trumpeter and band were in Johannesburg to perform at the WOMAD Festival and is a sublime demonstration of the uniting power of music that spans cultures and generations.
“By mining traditional Navajo 'spinning songs' of love, healing and courtship, and marrying them to jazz and funk lines, Anderson and his trio have taken a place at the forefront of a vibrant Native American jazz scene.” — The New York Times
Anderson's music puts Navajo culture through melodies inspired by ancient songs of love and war while fusing them with modern jazz and funk
NPR
Anderson's music puts Navajo culture through melodies inspired by ancient songs of love and war while fusing them with modern jazz and funk
NPR
Personnel
Delbert Anderson trumpet
Robert Muller keyboards
Mike McCluhan bass
Khalill Brown drums
(Anderson’s quartet) continues to span genres to produce a sound all its own, spanning jazz and hip-hop, with strong Native American influences
the press democrat
Personnel
Delbert Anderson trumpet
Robert Muller keyboards
Mike McCluhan bass
Khalill Brown drums
(Anderson’s quartet) continues to span genres to produce a sound all its own, spanning jazz and hip-hop, with strong Native American influences
the press democrat
Watch & Listen
Delbert Anderson Quartet
The Move
Delbert Anderson Quartet
In Tongue
Delbert Anderson Quartet
The Move
Delbert Anderson Quartet
In Tongue
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